#joyce weisbecker

[ourladyofomega]

Written code by Joyce Weisbecker. Weisbecker would not only become the first-ever female commercial game designer, but also the first female indie game developer as well. Pictured here is code from her first published game TV Schoolhouse I (1976) released through her father’s RCA Studio II console, which she wrote in one week and was paid $250.00 for.

[hagleyvault]

Over here at the Hagley Library, we have a number of collections of greeting cards and postcards to choose from when it comes to posting during the holidays. But many of the ones I love the most are the prototypes found in the papers of video gaming pioneer Joe Weisbecker (1932-1990).

Weisbecker, an engineer at RCA, is best known for his work in inventing an 8-bit microcomputer architecture that would serve as the foundation of RCA’s future microprocessor business. During the 1970s, he contributed to the development of RCA’s programmable video game and educational systems: FRED, STUDIO II, STUDIO III, and STUDIO IV, and Microtutor.

But, in addition to his work with RCA, Weisbecker ran his own business, Komputer Pastimes, which he used to develop and market simple games, puzzles, and books designed to introduce children and adults to computer language, programming, and technical concepts in a friendly, accessible format. In 1976, one of his daughters, Joyce Weisbecker, became the first female commercial video game designer and the first indie game developer when she was hired to created games for the RCA Studio II.

While it doesn’t appear that Komputer Pastimes ever launched Weisbecker’s line of greeting cards, they’re now available and preserved for posterity in the Hagley Library’s David Sarnoff Research Center records (Accession 2464.09).

You can view a selection of Joe Weisbecker’s section of that collection online now in our Digital Archive. The Joe Weisbecker Video Game Collection includes his greeting card prototypes, selected documents related to RCA's video game systems, and material from Komputer Pastimes. It also includes video clips of gameplay, which were provided by Kevin Bunch working from binaries converted from tapes by Andy Modla and Marcel van Tongeren.

[hagleyvault]

Sure, National Video Game Day may be a “nonsense holiday” or even a “dumb fake bad holiday”. But we’re still going to take it as an opportunity to shine a little light today on Joyce Weisbecker, the first female commercial video game designer and first indie game developer, seen here with her sister Jean in the 1970s. Joyce’s claim to video game fame comes from her work during this era. Her father, Joseph Weisbecker, was an engineer at RCA who invented an 8-bit microcomputer architecture that would serve as the foundation of RCA’s future microprocessor business, and who contributed to the development of RCA’s programmable video game and educational systems: FRED, STUDIO II, STUDIO III, and STUDIO IV, and Microtutor.

In 1976, with Joseph’s encouragement, Joyce spent the summer after her high school graduation programming video games for the RCA Cosmac VIP as an independent contractor. Among the games she designed that summer was an educational game called TV Schoolhouse I. While earlier games like Snake Race and Jackpot had earned her credit in RCA game programming manuals and little else, TV Schoolhouse I  sold to RCA for $250. Later sales that summer included Speedway and Tag, followed by Slide, Sum Fun, and Sequence Shoot in 1977.

Joyce graduated from Rider University in 1980 with a double major in computer engineering and actuarial science in 1980. Following a career as an actuary, in 1998, she earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a masters in computer science, and began work as a radar signal processing engineer designing digital filters. In addition to his work at RCA, Joseph Weisbecker ran his own business, Komputer Pastimes, which made simple games based on computer language for children and adults. He also wrote children’s books and designed toys and greeting cards. Much of this activity has been preserved in the Hagley Library’s Joseph A. Weisbecker papers records group of our David Sarnoff Research Center records (Accession 2464.09).

You can view the Joe Weisbecker Video Game digital collection in our Digital Archive now by clicking here. In addition to the photos shared here, this collection also comprises digital files extracted from cassette tapes found in Weisbecker's collection as well as selected documents related to RCA's video game systems and Weisbecker's work with Komputer Pastimes. The video clips of gameplay were provided by Kevin Bunch working from binaries converted from tapes by Andy Modla and Marcel van Tongeren. You can also check out some new research from this collection! In this episode of the Hagley’s Stories from the Stacks, Elizabeth Badger, PhD candidate at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, discusses the early history of video game culture, focusing on the effects of the commodification of games. Badger suggests that gaming culture initially focused on collective effort and community ethos, and that a turning point in the 1980s lead to the re-conception of video games a consumer commodities controlled by corporate interests. Badger situates her project in the context of her own experience with gaming and video game culture, noting the widespread prejudice against video games, and the sexism within gaming culture.

[ourladyofomega]

Speedway & Tag, a solid-state game cartridge for the RCA Studio II. Developed by Joyce Weisbecker who in 1976 became the first-ever female video-game programmer and is the daughter of -Studio II creator Joseph Weisbecker.

📸 source: Fast Company

[obscuritory]

Rediscovering History’s Lost First Female Video Game Designer | Co.Design

In 1976, Joyce Weisbecker programmed games for an RCA PC and console based on technology created by her dad–a significant achievement that went undocumented until now.

A few months back I shared an article about Carol Shaw, considered the first woman who made video games. Even earlier in 1976, Joyce Weisbecker designed games for an early RCA computer. Her work has been largely forgotten and in some cases completely uncredited.

Weisbecker gave her first interview about her work:

Looking back, Joyce Weisbecker does not particularly want to be known as the first female video game developer. To her, that is merely a coincidence. Instead, she considers herself possibly the first “indie” video game programmer, since she was an independent contractor and not an employee of RCA.

Still, she underplays her role as a tech hero. Upon my first inquiry into her history, she was immediately thrown off by my focus on her own achievements. “You’re the first person to ask about my work,” she said. “And I was only prepared to talk about my father’s work with me as a footnote.”

There is always more to learn about in history, especially the people and groups who have been left out and understanding the roles they played.